


Shine a Light

by SuddenShrike



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Autistic Character, Friendship, Gen, minor character centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26134663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuddenShrike/pseuds/SuddenShrike
Summary: Having been living in the same place as each other for nearly six years it is only natural that Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot are among the best of friends,but as the months pass problems that had long remained hidden emerge and threaten to tear them apart.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

A sharp creak ran out as the front door of the dingy rundown pub known as Hog’s Head swung open. A group of students approximately sixteen years of age vacated the building. Their thick winter robes rustled as they scraped along the top of the snow. Among them was a boy with dark blond hair in a rush to get out of the crowd. He breaks off from the group to wait alongside the front.

“Hey, Anthony,” called a brunette boy following at the back end of the crowd as he turned to meet his friend. “So, what do you think of the whole thing? Seems like a good idea so far. I mean, we have to pass our exams somehow despite the crap Umbridge is pulling,” said the brunette boy.

“I don’t know, Terry... I mean, it’s a nice idea but it doesn’t seem very fleshed out. They didn’t even seem to have any plan on where to hold these sessions. I’m not sure if it will even pan out,” Anthony replied, sounding unsure.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Besides we already signed, didn't we? Not much use in debating its merits anymore,” said Terry, leaving no room for further discussion.

With that conversation finished the duo got moving. They walked along the alley and turned onto an adjacent street. After a short walk Terry tapped Anthony’s shoulder to get his attention and said “I’m going to stop in here for a moment to get some snacks. It’ll only be a minute,” gesturing to a small, probably family run general store called Atkinson’s Lot. With that he turned and strode through the dark oak wood doors leaving Anthony to follow him. Atkinson’s was a quaint little place that sold snacks and items that would be useful for a wizard’s or witch’s everyday life. There were hats and scarves for the cold weather and enchanted brooms that would sweep your floor on its own. The brooms don’t throw away the piles they sweep up though. It was a place that the duo had stopped in during previous visits to Hogsmeade.

While Terry strode towards the food aisle Anthony hung back to wait at the front of the store. In the first aisle of the establishment were shelves full of scented candles. Pumpkin, apple cinnamon and a variety of floral scents were among the selection. Hearing footsteps Anthony raised his head and looked around.

Standing there, having apparently entered the market before them was Seamus Finnegan. Seeing a raised eyebrow in his direction Anthony realized that he had been caught intently sniffing the candles, which was weird behaviour, as his peers had taught him. Embarrassed, he walked quickly through the door bracing against the shock of the cold.

“Hey! Tony” called a voice from across the street. Strolling leisurely towards him was a black haired boy named Michael Corner. “Say, do you know where Terry is? I mean to talk to him,” Michael continued.

“Oh yeah, he was just in that store behind me,” Anthony replied, gesturing to Atkinson’s. As if one cue the door swung open and the person in question appeared with his pockets noticeably more stuffed. Terry looked mildly surprised to see Michael there.

Before acknowledging the presence of his other dorm mate Terry rifed around in his pocket and took out a candy bar covered in purple wrappings. “Here Anthony, I got this for you while I was in,” Terry said while handing Anthony the candy, getting an appreciative smile and quick thanks in return. 

With that finished Terry turned to Michael and said “I guess it’s good that we went long with your girlfriends meeting. You certainly seemed eager about Potter’s and Granger’s plans.”

There was no mystery as to why Michael supported Hermione’s ‘defence club’ idea. After all, his girlfriend is one of its major supporters. He was definitely the most eager of the three and the first of them to sign the parchment confirming their membership.

“Say, now that you're here Michael, do you know if Padma will be joining us too?” Asked Terry. The reason for this inquiry was because Padma, Michael, Anthony, and Terry had reached Hogsmeade in a group and were planning to return in a group.

“No, she got involved between some third-year Gryffindors and Slytherins. She stayed to try to mediate things because she’s a prefect now. She had it under control, so I left her to it.”

“That's quite good of her. I don’t know if I could break up a fight like that,” Anthony said softly, scratching his neck and looking down slightly.

“Our Anthony is too meek for that kind of work,” teased Michael. Terry smiles slightly and Anthony laughed self-deprecatingly.

It was true though. Nobody had expected Anthony to be chosen for prefect that year. Shy and occasionally reclusive he is simply not that well suited for the role. Compared to the more sociable Terry or headstrong Michael he was the least likely choice. Anthony couldn’t help but wonder why Dumbledore chose him.

But there was no point in dwelling on that further. With their business at Hogsmeade taken care of the trio began their journey through the snow and chill back to Hogwarts. A mundane chapter of their magic filled lives close.

Books out, wands away. Such was a typical class with Umbidge at the head. Not being allowed to practice any magic in class not only stunted their learning, but made class really boring.

The fifth-year Ravenclaws did not share a class with the fifth-year Gryffindors so they didn’t witness the lasting tension between Umbridge and Potter. However, there was still a lot of frustration by students who are scared that they may fail their O.W.Ls are a result of the poor teaching.

Among these people was Michael who, despite the entire class being warned not to, was practicing wand movements silently at the right side of his desk. He was seated near the right wall so it was relatively well hidden but Anthony, seated directly to his left, was worried.

He did not know whether or not he should intervene and stop Michael. On one hand he’s now a prefect and has a duty to stop rule breaking, and a duty as a friend to make sure his friend didn’t get detention. On the other hand Anthony knew that there was a high chance that Michael wouldn’t listen to him and may even get angry with him, and Anthony hated conflict.

After several minutes of deliberation Anthony made his choice. Waiting until the obnoxious and garishly pink women (seriously, that colour hurts his eyes) looked away from their direction and towards the whispering Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst he leaned over to Michael and spoke softly.

“Mike, you may want to stop practicing now. I know you're frustrated but getting detention won’t help,” In return Anthony got an angry look.

“I’m not going to let this hag make me fail my O.W.Ls,” Michael hissed in return.

“You’re not gonna fail, besides you can practice out of class,” Anthony continued, still speaking as quietly as he could.

Michael opened his mouth to respond when they were interrupted by a familiar throat clearing sound. With dread they turned to look in front of them and saw Umbridge looking directly at them.

“Mr. Corner, Mr. Goldstein, I do believe I told the entire class to read through chapter fifteen. It is no good for children to disobey their teacher. Ten points from Ravenclaw,” said Umbidge condescendingly. While she spoke Michael tried to quickly tuck his wand into his robe’s pocket, but fumbled and unfortunately attracted attention.

“You have your wand out too? That’s twice you have disobeyed me Mr. Corner. Detention, you will meet me in my office after class,” Umbridge continues with a false sweet smile.

With that Umbridge walks back to her desk at the front of the class. To Anthony’s right Michael sat sullenly while glaring at his desk.

The rest of the class passed without incident but Anthony could not escape the anxious buzz in his chest. He could tell that Michael was going to be upset for a while and he dreaded an impending conflict.

Finally the clock ticked into a new hour and Defence Against the Dark Arts ended. Students hurried about getting their books, quills, and ink pots in order and rapidly left the room. They did so quickly not because they were worried about being late to their next class but because they wanted to get away from their horrid teacher as soon as they could.

Anthony was one of the last to leave not wanting to be squished in the crowd. On the other side of the class was Terry who was waiting for him. Their next classes were charms so they walked together as usual. He finally stepped out of the class and started to walk when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Anthony glanced over his shoulder and was met with an angry look.

“Thanks for your help there Anthony. I really needed help getting detention,” Michael said sarcastically.

“Wait, it’s not Tony’s fault you got detention Mike! Don’t snap at him,” Terry interjected defensively.

Michael turned to Terry and snapped “yes it is! If he hadn’t drawn attention to me I wouldn’t have gotten caught.”

“You wouldn’t have gotten detention if you hadn’t broken the rules. Chances are you would have gotten caught eventually anyway.”

Anthony looks on to his arguing friends helplessly. The part of him that wanted to defend himself collided with the part of him that wanted to run from the situation. The result had him watching the fight silently and wring his hands anxiously.

Apparently having nothing more to say Michael gave a parting glare to Terry and turned and stormed off through the hall. On his way he pushed past a group of chatting fourth-years that were blocking the hall. The fourth-years glared at him but Michael did not seem to care.

After watching as his friend disappeared around the counter Anthony let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Well, that’s over for now but might I ask what exactly happened in there?” Terry asked.

A moment passed as Anthony got his thoughts together and replied “He was practicing with his wand out in class. I tried to stop him but I think I might just have gotten him detention.”

“Don’t worry about it. Mike’s a big boy and can handle the consequences of his decisions” Terry reassured.

“Now I think it would’ve been better if I stayed out of it. It’s not like I could convince him to stop anyway,” Anthony sighed.

“That’s Mike for you, once his mind is set on something you can’t really change it,” Terry agreed.

It was calm and quiet in the Ravenclaw common room. The hustle of students coming back from class has ceased. What remained were students chatting calmly while the sun continued to set, bathing the room in a yellow glow.

Anthony was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room going about his daily routine of finishing up any outstanding work due soon, in this case a potion essay. Heavily focused on his work he was unaware of the people around him until he sensed someone lingering a few feet to the side. He looks to see Michael looking straight at him with a neutral expression. A pulse of anxiety rushed through him

“Hey Tony, just wanted to apologize for snapping at you earlier,” Michael apologized, looking slightly sheepish. “I shouldn’t have taken out my frustration on you.”

Having heard the apology the tension in Anthony left and he spoke “It’s okay Mike, I understand. It’s not a big deal.”

Michael nodded in acknowledgment and walked over to and up the spiralling stairs that lead to the Ravenclaw dorms. Anthony watched him climb the stairs until he disappeared from view then quietly returned to his work.


	2. Chapter 2

Another day goes by. Now it is time for class again. This time it is an elective course titled ‘Ancient Runes’. The class dealt with the magical properties of runes, as well as teaching students how to identify and translate the most basic of runes into English.

It was not the most popular of classes, Anthony knew, despite it being his personal favourite. There was not a lot of actually performing magic, which bored many people. That and the course wasn’t very useful unless you plan to go into a field that requires the ability to understand basic runes. It is a skill well used to British historians. Anthony personally thought it was nice to put away his wand for a while and focus on the difficult and methodological process of translating.

Due to the classes unpopularity there were not a lot of students choosing it for an elective. This is why instead of separating the classes by house like normal, students from all four houses were in one larger class.

Footsteps resounded as the teacher of the course strode into the room. She waited until all the students became quiet before speaking.

“Today you will be assigned into groups of three. Your group will be tasked with translating a potion recipe written in English into runic script. Each group will be given a different recipe so don’t try to cheat off your neighbours,” said professor Babbling. Professor Babbling was a tall and rake thin woman with a drawn and tired face. She was not the friendliest of the staff but she was fair to all students.

“First group: Granger, Bulstrode, Nott, you're together. Second group: Finnegan, Goldstein, Zabini, and the last group is Brocklehurst and Malone,” Babbling announced.

With that the students started to shuffle over quietly to their respective groups, many were disgruntled about having group work. It can be difficult to work in groups, especially when you don’t get to choose who you are with. At best you have to deal with the awkwardness of working with someone you don’t know, never mind the people who get paired up with enemies.

Anthony looked around the rooms looking for his new group partners. He spotted Seamus first then made his way over to where the Gryffindor boy was seated. He would not have the courage to approach Seamus in other circumstances. Seamus gave the impression of being something of a loud and boisterous person. The intensity of his personality made him hard to approach.

“Hey,” Anthony greeted as he sat next to Seamus.

Seamus turned and met Anthony’s eyes as he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the chair next to him was pulled out, making a slight squeal as it was drug across the floor. The person who sat down in that chair was Blaise Zabini.

Blaise was another person that Anthony would not normally talk with. While he wasn’t cruel like many other Slytherins, Blaise was intimating in his own way. He had a very serious straightforward way of speaking and his face rarely showed any emotion, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking. All in all, they made for a rather interesting group.

“So, let’s get started shall we?” Seamus began while he looked at the page they were assigned. “I don’t even know where to start. I guess it’s good we have Goldstein here then,” Seamus joked, sounding as awkward as Anthony felt. Anthony chuckled nervously in response while Blaise simply looked on impassively. While Seamus was making a joke there was truth to his statement. Anthony was at the top of the class, just a little bit behind Granger in terms of grades.

“Is it okay with you two if we divide this into three sections and we can work on translating one section each?” Seamus asked

“That’s fine,” Anthony responded. They looked over to Blaise who simply nodded his acceptance. The work was then divided into three, with Seamus handling the ingredient section and Blaise and Anthony working on half of the brewing instructions each.

Taking a short break from his work, Anthony looked around the class. Professor Babbling was at her desk grading some papers. There wasn’t anything interesting with the other groups until he met someone’s eye.

Millicent Bulstrode was looking right at him. This wasn’t good for him. Anthony knew that she had a proclivity towards being judgemental and talking about people behind their backs, or at least that’s what he heard from Terry and Padma.

Looking away from her Anthony refocused on what was happening with his own group. Blaise seemed to be perfectly fine, or at least was not showing any signs of confusion or frustration. He didn’t need any help. Seamus on the other hand had his brow creased in what might have been confusion or frustration. By the look of his work he was having trouble. Anthony could see a few mistakes in Finnigan’s work. After a few moments of indecision he decided to step in.

“Um, Sheamus?” Anthony called and when he saw Seamus look towards him he continued. “You wrote this rune down incorrectly. It’s not supposed to have a tail,” he said while pointing to the problem spot.

“Oh,” Seamus said, looking over his work again. “Oh! I see now. Thanks Goldstein, that’s a bit of a stupid mistake. Now I feel like an idiot” he continued, laughing, clearly embarrassed by the error.

Two seats to Anthony’s left, Blaise scoffed. At the others questioning looks he continued “The only stupid thing here is your attitude.” Seamus glared at him and opened his mouth to speak when a flash of understanding crossed his face. 

“I guess it is kinda dumb to beat myself up for a little mistake,” said Seamus.

“That is true” Anthony concurred.

After that small exchange the class continued in silence. Eventually the groups finished all their work and handed it in to the professor. Soon enough, class was over and the three parted ways, leaving nothing but short ‘goodbyes’.

Later on that day, in the library sat Anthony recounting his last class to Terry, who was listening intently.

“So, that’s how it went. It wasn’t too bad, but I wish that it went better. I do want to get out and be more social but I never seem to have much luck finding someone I get along with well, you know?” Anthony explained. Sitting on a thief chair at the opposite side of the table was Terry. He was listening intently with his hand resting on his palm and an elbow on the table.

“Well, you have to start somewhere don’t you? I think you just have to keep trying. You can’t make a friend in a day.”

“I know that. But when you don’t gel well with the other person I think that effort may just be futile.”

“You don’t know until you try, so you may as well. I think you should try talking to Seamus again. He’s usually easygoing. In fact, he is right over there,” Terry said, pointing towards a section of the library devoted to the subject of transfiguration. In that section, searching carefully for something was Seamus Finnegan himself.

Anthony looked towards Seamus then back to Terry with a conflicted expression.

“Go on,” Terry said expectantly.

Anthony pushed his chair back and hesitantly looked toward the Gryffindor. Sighing, he pushed his way through his anxiety and made his way toward him. It took a moment for Seamus to notice him.

“Hey Seamus. How’s it going,” then Anthony noticed that Seamus has picked out an older guide to transfiguration. 

“Having trouble with transfiguration?” Anthony asked. The fact the Seamus seemed to be having trouble with that subject opened up a new possibility for them. Transfiguration was one of Anthony’s better subjects so he could very well help him. The problem was that the thought of offering his help made Anthony balk. What if he takes the offer for help as an insult implying that he can’t help himself? Or what if it makes Seamus think that Anthony is full of himself? People got upset over stranger things, in Anthony’s experience.

Meanwhile, Seamus looked at him with a confused expression, probably wondering why Anthony was approaching him. 

“Uh, yeah, I am having a bit of trouble,” Seamus responded.

“The classes just seem to be getting harder and harder,” was Anthony’s attempt at a joke.

“That’s true,” replied Seamus.

With that the conversation seemed to stall. This was a familiar issue for Anthony. He would do his best to talk to people but they wouldn’t be very responsive. Maybe talking about something Seamus likes would help, but Anthony doesn’t know what Seamus liked. Quidditch seemed to be popular with gryffindors in general, maybe he could try that.

“How’s the Gryffindor quidditch team doing? Didn’t your captain graduate last year?”

“That was Oliver Wood, now Angelina Johnson is the new captain. I’m not a player myself but I’ve heard a few things. Seems like she’s upset that Potter keeps on getting detention,” 

Aha! He got him hooked. The victory was short lived as Anthony soon realized that he had no clue on how to continue this conversation. He stood there for a few moments trying to figure something out while Seamus watched and eventually he gave up.

“Well, I have to get going. Y’know, cause of homework and stuff,” Anthony made his excuse to get out of the conversation.

“See ya later then,” Seamus then gave Anthony a little wave goodbye. After that Seamus turned and sauntered away, presumably to check out the book he acquired.

Since that was finished Anthony walked back to his seat and sat down hard. Now that the interaction was over his accumulated emotional fatigue that he managed to hold back swept over him. He was tired and his nerves were flayed. He sighed heavily.

“How’d it go?” Terry asked.

Anthony wanted to respond to him but found that he couldn’t. He couldn’t translate his thoughts into words and even if he could do that it was doubtful that he would be able to push the words from his throat.

But Terry was still looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Suddenly, everything seemed too much to handle. He couldn’t deal with this. He had to leave.

Anthony hurriedly closes the potions textbook he was studying from and shoved it in his bag. He stormed away from the table, ignoring his friend calling his name worriedly behind him.

Terry stood at the doorway to the library, watching Anthony storm away. His brow creased as worried thoughts rushed through him. What was that about? Anthony seemed fine just a few minutes ago then suddenly he’s upset. He could not think of what caused this. The one thing he did know, however, was that he shouldn’t let this go.


	3. Chapter 3

It was getting late. Twilight has already passed and the only thing illuminating the Ravenclaw boys dorm were the lit floating candles scattered around and a couple torches mounted on the wall. In the room waited Terry Boot. It wasn’t late enough that his dorm mates were going to bed, so he was in there alone.

He was waiting for Anthony. They needed to have a talk. He was worried. It was unlike Anthony to storm away like that and it is no good to let problems fester. It was Terry’s policy to tackle problems head on.

As he expected, Anthony soon entered the room. He was usually the first to retire for the day, not necessarily to go to bed early, but to get some time alone. Today he looked tired, almost worn down.

Terry waited until Anthony was finished putting away his school supplies in the trunk by his bed before speaking up.

“About what happened earlier… what was that? It’s not like you to storm off out of the blue,” Terry asked.

Anthony looked away from him and sat on his own bed.

“I don’t really know,” Anthony said.

Terry waited for him to continue but Anthony remained silent, so he pressed harder.

“Look, I can tell that you are having a hard time, and I do want to help you, but I can’t if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Instead of responding Anthony kept on staring down at his lap, tapping his fingers hard against his leg. Terry knew Anthony for long enough to tell that was a sign that he was reaching his breaking point.

Yet he continued on with his silence. Terry soon felt frustration creeping in on him. Was he being ignored? Why? He didn’t think that he did anything wrong.

“Please don’t ignore me, Anthony,” Terry pleaded.

Another few more moments of silence continued where Anthony opened and closed his mouth as if aborting an attempt to speak, still tapping his leg, the movements getting faster and harder.

Even more seconds passed in silence until Anthony swung his legs into his bed and pulled the curtain around his bed completely closed.

“Anthony?”

It took several seconds for a response to come, long enough so that when it did Terry was in the process of calling out again.

“... go away,”

Terry was taken aback. Once again hurt floods through him and he found that he didn’t want to stay here anymore, so he spun around and nearly ran out of the dorms.

Terry walked back down the twisting staircase that leads to the common room. He passed by chattering students sitting at the tables haphazardly spread about the room. He reached his destination and sat down hard on the ancient couch by the fireplace. He knew that sitting like that was not good for the springs but this piece of furniture had been around for a long time. Now that he thought about it the piece of furniture was probably charmed so that it would last longer.

And so he sat, lost in his thoughts. He was angry and confused and stressed all at once. He didn’t know why he was being shut out and it was painful. He had believed that Anthony trusted him completely, but now he knows that may not be the case.

So he continued to sit there, with his gaze on the ground and his knees tucked to his chest. Eventually, the noise around him quieted and he felt the couch cushion beside him compress. He looked up and besides him. There sat Padma Patil with an unreadable expression. A few more seconds passed before she spoke.

“What happened?” She asked.

“Me and Anthony… We got into a fight,” Terry responded, not looking in Padma’s direction.

“That’s unusual. You two usually get along quite well,” Padma commented.

“I just don’t know what’s with him today? He’s just getting upset out of the blue. I don’t want to have to walk on eggshells around him,” he said, his frustration clear on his face.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“No, I tried asking but he completely ignored me. After that he told me to leave so here I am,” He said, waving his hands in a gesture. Then he slumped, again gazing towards the floor.

“I don’t know what I did wrong,” Terry said hopelessly. What a depressing sentence, in Padma’s opinion.

Padma watched and contemplated her next move for a moment before speaking.

“Look… I think you should stay here and calm down for a while, until you’re feeling better. If you are really worried about Anthony I can check in on him for you, but I think it may be best to leave him alone for the night. It sounds like he needs time to calm down too.”

“... I guess,” came the flat reply.

With their conversation finished Padma walked up and into the boys dormitory. While boys were forbidden from entering into the girls dorm the contrary doesn’t apply to girls, so she could go up there when she pleased.

Now inside the dorms, she took a look around. Other than Anthony who was probably hidden by his bed’s curtains there was no one else in the room. Good, she thought. That way there is nobody to listen in on them, if Anthony will talk to her, that is.

Footsteps resounded in an otherwise silent room as she walked up to the bed.

“Anthony? … I heard about what happened and I want to let you know that if you want to talk, I’m here,” then she waited, sitting on Michael’s bed which was one of the closest to Anthony’s.

Minutes pass and she does not get a response. Seems like he doesn’t want to talk to her either. She sighed and stood up.

“Well, I have to go, but still, my offer stands. If you need to talk I will be there,” was the final thing she said to him before she left.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work on this website.  
> Be be gentle i am very nervous.


End file.
